MEMBER'S CHOICE - Katy and Jim are still dating during Jim’s “Email Surveillance” BBQ. When Pam sees them together it lights a fire under her.I'm so late leaving a review for this, I'm ashamed of myself.
This is such good, clean writing, it's such a pleasure to read. And it's so nice to read a Pam that's seeing Jim as more than a friend when she SHOULD have, when any normal, red-blood American woman would have. Great, great job.
I decided I love every time someone writes about Jon, and he's become a real character on this site. So I kept thinking about writing JAM's growing relationship during the seasons through telephone conversations with Jon and Jim, and sometimes even his mom and his sister Lisa. Pam might even call once or twice...who knows. :P It's all dialogue BTW, since it's phone conversations. Interesting way to tell a story.
How I love boy talk! You've got these guys down so perfectly! I love that Jon's a bit of a horndog and I love how he teases Jim. I'm really enjoying this and looking forward to more!
I am really loving this look back from Pam's POV and the short format works so well! Like little snapshots from Pam's memory book. You're doing a great job with this and I'm enjoying it so much!
Author's Response: Thanks, Sweetpea! I'm really enjoying the short format. For some reason I find it easier to write, so I'm glad you think it's working from a readers perspective. And I always love writing Pam's POV.
Jim and Pam are Jim and Pam, only...not really.I don't even know what to say to you anymore! This is the perfect story for the countdown to April 10th - a little of our favorite characters with a great twist away from the cameras. I'm sure this is a nice change of pace for you after writing How It Falls and it's a delightful change of mood for me to read, too.
HA! Before I even read the THREE new chapters that were waiting for me, I looked at the Table of Contents and said OUT LOUD to no one, "How is she doing this?"
This is so great. Have a cup of coffee, stay home and finish, okay?
Best. Chapter. Of. Fic. Ever.
That's all I got.
You kow how in Money, Pam keeps coming up with the clever hotel names and Jim says, "How are you doing this?" Yeah, how are you doing this?
Cause first you did this:
she wants to kind of run her ‘Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam’ fingers through his hair.
And then you did this:
now it’s like he’s always seeing her…always looking for her and searching through her defenses to find her reality buried underneath somewhere. It’s a huge pile he’ll have to search through, though, she tells herself, so she’s sure he won’t actually ever find much.
And then you finished it off with the doomed/saved line. Such a great chapter (and yes, I did love the penis part, okay?) with palpable nervousness and awkwardness.
Nurse Come Over Here and Take Off Your Clothes, maybe?
Mm hmm. NOW you're talkin'!!!
You already know all the other parts I love, like basically everything.
Lesson 1 in How to Be a Good Beta: Beta for someone who doesn't need a beta! That way, you just get to read their stuff first and add comments like "I love this!" or "This is great!" or "Penis penis penis penis!!!" (situation, you say?)
Oh, Jim is so clever! I loved Dwight in this chapter, just playing with him like he's a puppy. Every chapter, I'm just shaking my head thinking, "how did she DO that?"
Okay, the 'pre-sex first aid ritual' is truly inspired as is the Sharpie message on the crotch of her pants. Oh, these two are so transparent, it's fabulous. That beef n cheddar's gonna make her forget all about Graham, that's for sure.
If saving lives were this easy, I'd be a GD surgeon!
Just that little, "I'm gonna go" crushed me. Damage control, Pam! Double time, front and center!
Best gooey line: He badly, badly wants her to think he’s a good man.
Best laugh out loud line: ...all of the things that make Jim think about shooting her in the face, which is totally manly and he much prefers this over thinking about stripping Pam’s clothes off of her or imagining himself dropping down to one knee…
Yeah he definitely doesn’t want to be thinking that.
So his fantasies of stapling Kelly’s mouth shut are a welcome and much needed distraction.
What a great chapter this was. I hope everyone continues to enjoy each chapter as it comes as much as I have and not look too far ahead and predict what might or might not happen. Personally, I can't believe I have restrained myself and not asked, "hey, where is this going?" I'm trying to be zen like Jim!! It is all about the journey. Just keep unrolling that thread and spinning this fabulous story.
Hey, Sweetpea, enjoy the ride. Don't be that rotten little kid in the back seat whining "ARE WE THERE YET?"
Ok?
Just keep it together, god. All will be revealed. Otherwise I'll staple YOUR mouth shut.
;-)
Best. Chapter of fic. Ever. (with no penis)
Look, this was like being an incredibly greedy diner at the best Chinese restaurant in town.
YOU: “Sweetpea, here are your selections for Column A. If you don’t like Column A, let me know, because I have everything from Column B pretty much ready and I could serve it in, like, an hour.”
ME: “Stablergirl, Column A is delicious! In fact, I’m still picking my teeth and I’ve barely digested it, but…uh…hey. Whaddya got in Column B?”
YOU: “Sweetpea, here is Column B, everything deliciously and expertly prepared. Tell me what you like and what you don’t like.”
ME: “GAH! I’m so FULL! But…I can’t resist! It all looks so good! What about a special order? You know, like some from Column A and some from Column B, and what do you think about grilling instead of frying #37? Is that wild boar? Bring me the wild boar!! And more sauce!
YOU: “Settle down, there’s more where that came from.”
Man, it's just such an amazing treat. Thank you.
I got all tingly reading this in final form! I love Jim's need for her and his desperation to get in and get at her honesty and the kiss is blistering hot. ::sigh::
I blurted my tea when I saw this title! And I don't think I've mentioned how much I love all of them. It's so much fun to come here and see each one and this one is so great. I'll be laughing at Pam barking out "Two loaves!" for the rest of the night.
Author's Response:
lol I know!! That's my favorite part, I think. I'm still laughing at it.
Best beta dundie. stat. stat means now.
This chapter is my favorite, I think, although it's a very tough call. Of course, all the great lines that are so funny. I love that they're having an actual (although halting) conversation about him calling her name out while he was having sex with Red and.."then he’s pushing himself into her and she’s letting her head fall back again so that he can’t resist planting open mouthed kisses against her pulse and the place where her neck turns into her shoulder. Her skin is white, clean, soft and feminine and he’s totally transfixed by it. He pulls out of her and pushes back in, slow and long and deep, and she says oh god with slow and long and deep sounding vowels." So incredibly sexy. I love him sprawled out and "beautiful looking" on the bed. I love that Pam feels like she's losing her mind ("This is insane") and he thinks things are just starting to make sense. It's all just so great.
For the record, I did absolutely nothing with this chapter except read it and love it before anyone else devoured it. It's all you, Mama, and you completely blew my mind with this one.
Plus, if I haven't taken too long with this, I get to be #400!
you are number 400!! Well done, perfectly timed ;-) Now I just have to work on that four hundred more with the Dallas based mini-series... hm...
Seriously though, look at you with this amazing review you left me. Your reviews always killed me before but now that we're buds they're just that much better! ;-) Honest. I thank you I thank you and I cannot say it enough.
Thank God for Heather! I love her! What good girlfriend wouldn't want to know about all the naked parts, right? And the scene in the kitchen is just...MAN, I have got to find a boyfriend.
Author's Response: lol thank god for heather indeed! and I, too, need a boyfriend...although if I had one I sincerely doubt I'd update so fast...
I know this one was a bit of a battle, but wow, but it turned out so great! I love what an editing freak you are because I always pick up little bits that change from the final read-through to post (and sometimes even after). Everyone should know how much effort you put into even some of the smallest details and the fact that you do it so effing quickly is still mind-boggling to me. You're so...great.
Author's Response: lol I know...me and my last minute editing. I walk away for a second and then come back and re-read and go "what? what kind of sentence is THAT?" and poof an entire chapter gets edited. Probably REALLY bad form, right? lol. You also are GREAT so thank you thank you for all sorts of beta things!!!!
Exhale and have a pop tart! This one was gorgeous. I love to feel needed, but this one was just you, cooking on high heat.
Author's Response: thanks sweetpea ;-) you did a little magic in there, come on, give yourself credit. lol. ugh yikes, two more to go...
Things I think people should know about this chapter:
My random thoughts:I’m still wowed by your talent. Babe. Ten points, gold star, and a thumbs up for you. Plus, Dundie Award for Fecundity. From the very beginning, you knew it was going to be 30 chapters. Like Jim, you had a Plan. You’ve always had the end exactly in mind but the journey to get there was pretty organic. That was great, great fun for me - I never knew where the next chapter was going to take me. Now, here we are at the penultimate chapter…and I have as much clue as to what’s going to happen next as anybody else. I only asked a couple times, but even when I pulled out the big guns and claimed I couldn’t do a good job being your beta if I didn’t know where the story was going to end up, you didn’t tell me. Congratulations to you, sir! I am spoiler-free, and when Jim Halpert gets done kicking my ass, you can do the same thing with Chapter 30.
Now, if the formatting on THIS one is hosed, you're just going to have to deal with it!
I'll save the really mushy stuff for email.
First, just, thank you. From that first email saying, "hey, would you mind taking a look at this?" to last night's frenetic and hysterical game of Fic-Pong and Name That Chapter! - it's been great, great fun.
I loved this ending so much. I can't imagine a better place for them to be, geographically and emotionally. I love the little beer trade-off, Humphrey Bogart, sex instead of dinner, naked!Jim crawling on the sheets, the line-quoting, "you're totally my Angelina Jolie", and God Bless America - the last paragraph is just fantastic. ;-)
I am so sad to see this end but thrilled to see it end so perfectly. So talented you are. Congratulations!
An Easter egg hunt at Schrute Farms can't be anything but wonderfully odd and I can't wait to read your version of it, TLK. I love Dwight calling Jim "Girl" so much and Jim still wanting to mess with him is great, but the line from Dwight about the baby being useless made me laugh out loud.
Author's Response:
Yay! Any line that makes you laugh out loud is a good one, right? :) I could see Dwight saying something like that.
Curiously, Dwight never mentioned the words "Easter egg hunt." Everyone, including Jim, is making assumptions. Think about that. ;)
Thanks for reading and reviewing, Sweetpea! :)
Pam's going to the convention!! You have just the perfect light and right touch on that phone call, xoxoxo. And thank you so much for putting that phone into Jim's hand! 'I don't know who to call" my ass. Can't wait for Pam's train to pull in! TWHS.
Author's Response: Pam's going to the convention!!! I don't think she fully grasps what she's gotten herself into yet though. So glad you liked the way the call went. I was as nervous as Pam posting this. More soon!
I love Jim and Michael so much and you did a great job with them! But you know we're all looking forward to what's coming next, so quit stalling! </Jim>
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